Two months ago, a mom in Arizona had a scary experience. The lid on her new Tristar Power Pressure Cooker XL popped open about 10 minutes into the cooking time. No one was injured, but anyone nearby could have been burned by scalding-hot food or a steam explosion.

She never used the pressure cooker again. Instead, she reported it to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a regulatory agency responsible for protecting Americans from products that pose an unreasonable risk of causing injury or death.

She was not alone. Far more serious incidents were already reported. The CPSC now has around a dozen complaints about Tristar Pressure Cookers exploding open or burning people since 2015.

In one report from March 2016, a woman was hospitalized when the lid blew off and exploded its contents all over her body.

In another report from February 2015, a woman was badly burned when hot soup blew out of her Power Pressure Cooker:

The explosion did damage to my walls and cabinets, and had anyone been standing closer to it, it could have killed or seriously injured my family and my son’s friend.”

Almost all recalls start with reports like these. The process starts when the CPSC reads the report and makes a preliminary decision about the risk of more injuries.

This decision is preliminary because the CPSC must get permission from the manufacturer to issue any warnings or recalls. We’ll get to that later.

The next step is deciding if a “substantial product hazard” exists. This is straightforward in some cases (i.e., baby clothing violating flammability standards) but far more complicated in other cases.

The CPSC decides if a product like the Power Pressure Cooker XL poses a “substantial product hazard” based on three factors:

  • Type of defect: Flaws in design, contents, construction, packaging, warnings, or instructions, and also how the defect causes injuries.
  • Number of defective products: Just one report can lead to a recall, but if most of the products are safe (or the unsafe ones pose little risk) it may not be a “substantial” hazard.
  • Severity of the risk: Number of injuries reported, seriousness of those injuries, and the likelihood of an injury occurring.

Higher priority is given to products with more substantial hazards. Top priority is “Class A Hazards” — likely to cause severe injury or death — and these products get more attention. Corrective actions may include recalls, stop-sale orders, injunctions, fines, civil or criminal lawsuits, or even forcible seizure of dangerous products by U.S. Marshals.

The vast majority of recalls are voluntary, but companies do refuse — and they do win. Mandatory recalls are extremely rare and require a court order after a trial-type hearing.

The bottom line is there is no guarantee of a recall, even when a product is obviously defective. The most likely scenario is the CPSC simply chooses not to pursue a recall, manufacturers ignore complaints, and the product stays on the market.

Americans generally believe U.S. regulatory agencies are free to do their job, and some people think regulators routinely go too far.

The reality is that the CPSC has to get permission to do its job from the private companies it regulates. In 1981, Congress added Section 6B to the Consumer Product Safety Act — giving companies “veto” power to delay, restrict, or edit what the CPSC can say.

Section 6B requires the CPSC to send a “rough draft” of the warning to the product’s manufacturer 10 days ahead of time. If the company objects, they get another 5 days to water-down, delay, or completely reject those warnings.

The law is explicitly designed to give private companies enormous power over recalls and limit the power of the CPSC, even when a product is actively killing people.

The obvious problem is that companies typically want to downplay risks, continue selling their products, or quietly pull products off the market without a recall to avoid lawsuits or negative publicity. The other problem is very few consumers report injuries to the CPSC.

In the end, lawsuits are sometimes the only way word gets out about a defective product. Tristar Inc., the manufacturer of the Power Pressure Cooker XL, is facing a growing number of lawsuits from people who were seriously burned. Without a recall, and no guarantee of any action from the CPSC, lawsuits may be necessary for injured consumers to seek justice.

Scales of JusticeEditor’s note: For more information on pressure cooker lawsuits and your legal rights, please contact the law firm of Johnson Becker, PLLC. The firm is currently evaluating exploding pressure cooker cases in all 50 states.
Click Here for a Free Confidential Case Consultation

Source: The Road To Recall: Evaluating Substantial Product HazardsLaw360.com

Posted by Elizabeth Bradley

Lifelong consumer advocate. Pop culture nerd. Grammar evangelist. Wannabe organizer. Travel addict. Zombie fan.

6 Comments

  1. Laura Pazzaglia January 29, 2017 at 2:17 am

    Elizabeth, thanks or this informative article and behind-the-scenes look at the recall process. I’m a professional in the pressure cooking industry and I found a design flaw in most electric pressure cookers that have caused these un-expected, sometimes catastrophic release of pressure. I wrote to the CPSC directly, and they told me to submit a “consumer form” I submitted the form and my claim was rendered insufficient. Frankly, the process is so broken and completely adulterated that I’m surprised they’re able to make any recalls at all!

    In case you are interested, here is my alert. It’s such a simple thing but that can, in my opinion and experience, GREATLY reduce the injuries and scares caused by electric pressure cookers:
    http://www.hippressurecooking.com/consumer-alert-max-fill-lines-too-high-for-pressure-programs/

    Ciao,

    L

  2. LaTosha Galloway February 15, 2017 at 2:30 pm

    I just recently have been severely burned by my power pressure cooker xl. My skin is off from my neck down to my thighs. I never thought this would happen while making beef stew. I am in so much pain and I know my body or me mentally will never be the same. This happened on 2/12/17 2 days before valentines. They need to recall these if they are defected. My neice and boyfriend were in the kitchen at the time. They weren’t as close to it as I was. It happened so fast they just heard me screaming and trying to rip my clothes off. I was in so much pain and from then on I knew my skin was gonna start melting off in which it did. I am glad it didn’t hit anyone else and I am glad it missed my face. If this product keeps blowing up then it needs to be off the market. No one should have to go through this. After seeing my body all I can do is cry and now I am scared to cook and I am bed riddin as of right now. I need answers and I meed to know what to do from here on out. Can someone please help me

    1. I know it’s been a while since you wrote, but I hope you’ve contacted a lawyer. Did you go to the hospital and have all your injuries documented? Please call around your area for lawyers, but be sure to check them out on Yelp and other places on the internet before choosing one to represent you. Good luck and I’m sorry this happened to you.

  3. What’s taking so long?

  4. I sent all of my paper work in months ago.Have you lost it or is things just taking this long.I’m afraid to use it now.

    Thank you
    EUGENE PROCTOR

    1. Eugene…I have done the samething and never heard back

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